Daytime Emmy poll: Who will win lead actor?

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It’s neck and neck between ‘As the World Turns’ star Michael Park and ‘Days of Our Lives’ hunk James Scott in the race for best actor at this year’s Daytime Emmys. Park is the defending champion, winning for the first time last year after three nominations for his role as crusading detective Jack Snyder on the canceled CBS soap. A stage actor before he joined the TV series, he can now be seen in the Tony-winning revival of ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ on Broadway.

But while Park hopes to defend his best actor title, another strong contender is looking for his first victory. Scott -- nominated for the second year in a row as the dastardly EJ DiMera on the NBC sudser -- is right on his heels thanks to the strength of the episode submission he made to Emmy judges. In it, he portrays a drunk and desperate man threatening to run away with his kids. But while victory would be a milestone for Scott, it would be an even greater breakthrough for ‘Days of Our Lives,’ which hasn’t won a best actor Emmy since Macdonald Carey in 1975 –- four years before Scott was born.

Also posing a major threat in the best actor race is daytime’s resident godfather Maurice Benard, who has played ‘General Hospital’ mob boss Sonny Corinthos since 1993 but has only won a single Emmy for best actor (2003). In his episode submission this year, he shows a more caring side of his criminal character, confronting the man who attacked his teenage daughter. This year, Benard doesn’t have to compete against his indomitable co-star Anthony Geary, who plays the iconic Luke Spencer (of Luke & Laura fame) and has prevailed in this category a record six times, most recently in 2008.

But he does have to compete against Christian LeBlanc of ‘The Young and the Restless,’ a three-time best actor winner (2005, 2007, 2009) who has only lost this category once when nominated (in 2008, to Geary). In his sample episode this year, he pleads with his wife to seek medical treatment for blackouts without knowing that she’s actually an impostor.

Ricky Paull Goldin, now a four-time nominee, rounds out the category. He’s nominated for playing Dr. Jake Martin on ‘All My Children,’ a role that earned him a supporting nod last year. He submitted a comic episode to judges in which he proposes to his girlfriend. Comic performances are sometimes nominated at the Daytime Emmys, where they represent an often welcome change of pace from the waterworks on display from most contenders, but when it comes to picking a winner, Emmy usually opts for tears over cheers.

-- Tom O’Neil

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